Real Estate
by merani
Summary: Tseng acquires a new property. Rufus bests his offer.


This fic is all about ignoring On the Way to a Smile: Case of Shinra canon. :-)

* * *

He is not sure whether or not he can consider himself a TURK anymore, but Tseng considers himself a fairly adequate real estate agent, even three days after Midgar has been blasted to indiscernible, tiny pieces. He is not sure if it is by fortune or by force in which he has taken the single standing house in once Sector 3 - he may have threatened a man with his gun in lieu of any formal paperwork in which to acquire it.

Though he cannot locate any of his coworkers, or Rufus ShinRa himself, Tseng considers the acquisition of real estate to be a service to his boss. When- or if- he finds Rufus, he would have a place to keep the President away from despairing and crazed displaced citizens of Midgar. Surely, Rufus would appreciate that, as he hates chaos and unruly people.

Tseng looks for Rufus for five consecutive days after the purchase. At first, this task is mindless work. Tseng is used to looking for people, and finding them. Sometimes he would have to kill them, but he does not have to kill Rufus ShinRa, so the job is already more desirable than most. And Tseng figures it is prudent to kill two birds with one stone as well by hoping to find the other TURKs as well

After six days, Tseng admits there is something quite undesirable about working alone. He would much rather work with screw-offs and an anal-retentive boss. To some degree, he misses them, though he will never admit this.

On the seventh day, a destitute man breaks into Tseng's brand new house. Tseng has no possessions - after all, not many do after their homes are decimated by a very large moon rock - so the man instead smashes the windows and flips the remaining furniture left by the prior tenants, too heavy to move but still in the way of an angry man who burgles a house and leaves with nothing.

Tseng is too late to stop him. He fires his gun three times at the man, but the man escapes.

Though Tseng finds the futility in the man's attempt to burgle his house hilarious, he cannot help but feel violated, as his home has been broken into. No one would have dared break into a TURKs place of residence, let alone be able to locate it - before ShinRa collapsed into a pile of rubble, that is.

Tseng considers his standing even further. Rufus sure owed him a lot. He had not even visited Tseng after he had been stabbed by Sephiroth! And here Tseng was still, acquiring prime (and the sole remaining) properties for the President, even after his company had been blown to smithereens. And for what? Tseng was sure he would not receive a paycheck in the near future.

It is then that Tseng considers throwing in the towel on his employment. Rufus ShinRa was probably dead, and so was everyone else. He would have to think of something else to do.

"Broken windows," remarks someone familiar, who is making his way through the door. There is blood all over his white coat and an unsightly black mark on his hand. Tseng wonders if he should shoot this man too, and even still considers it when he realizes who it is.

"Drafty. Needs new floors, disgusting ceiling tile. Terrible room placement, can hardly turn around in that bathroom." Rufus ShinRa rounds the first floor of the house once, and stops in front of Tseng. "For a man who worked in ShinRa all of his adult life, I would expect you'd have better taste."

Before Tseng can remark that the ShinRa building was actually very ugly, Rufus extracts a floor plan and a contract from the inside of his coat. He shows the floor plan to Tseng. "Healen Lodge. Thirteen rooms and newly built. It was meant to be a medical center, but I would kind of like it for myself... and my new business. I'm rather fond of the scenery. I've already taken Reno, Rude and Elena. We were waiting for you."

Tseng looks at Rufus. The black is not just on his hand, but on his face and neck as well. Tseng does not know what it is yet, but Rufus has quite clearly been suffering. All of Tseng's grudges against the president are suddenly cast away.

"You didn't come, so I came and got you," Rufus says, seeming terribly inconvenienced.

"Maybe you should have called me," Tseng says. And as an afterthought, "Sir."

"Maybe," says Rufus.

Tseng follows Rufus, and relinquishes his career as a TURK - he would leave the real estate up to Rufus from now on.


End file.
